Stardusk78

What is this permanent stat boost I constantly see? where does one get it?

Obsidian, hear our plea, give Priests new spells!

Exactly) It would also make soulblade much more useful during ship battles with a lot of enemies. At least it would help to avoid thoughts of the "I'd rather have an aoe ascendant right now" sort. Definitely gonna check it on the weekend then. Here we go Priest: Subclasses: Overall: getting spells from other classes is very useful, since in a way you multi-class not 2 classes but two and a half; and depending on the synergy between them player can get pretty nice results. Now let's take a look how many cross-class spells/abilities each subclass gets: Priest of Berath: 4 druid spells Priest of Eothas: 1 druid spell Priest of Magran: 4 evocation spells Priest of Skaen: 3 rogue abilities Priest of Wael: 1 conjuration and 5 illusion spells No wonder many find priest of Eothas to be the least flexible option. And priest of Skaen kinda viable but hard to make an optimal build with (as the player can multi-class into an actual martial class instead) At the same time, priest of Wael has the most variants when it comes to multi-classing. He is great for a debilitator type of character; and also for a plethora of other builds that just need those extra defenses. That's why I would make a few adjustments to these bonus spell selections. Priest of Berath: looking at Touch of Rot and Rot Skulls, this subclass is mostly meant for DoT focused characters. I.e. those who would increase MIG and INT, and ofc have decent PER to actually apply their effects. That's why Holy Meditation looks a bit unfitting from building point of view; and would definitely switch it with Autumn's Decay or Insect Swarm. And Spreading Plague with Infestation of Maggots. Priest of Eothas: 8 out of 9 predefined spells are all about buffing and healing. And it makes you wonder, why Sunbeam is there. This subclass requires either more spells that deal [damage + affliction] in order to support such sunbeam archetype, or get rid of this spell and go full buffer/healer instead. The second way is easier and doesn't clash with Wael. That's why I would swap Sunbeam with Nature's Vigor. Also: having just 1 non-priest spell doesn't differentiate enough this subclass from other kinds of priests. Thus would end up with: 1. Nature's Vigor; 2. Withdraw; 3. Nature's Balm; 4. Circle of Protection; 5. Cleansing Wind; 6. Minor Intercesion; 7. Ressurection or Nature's Bounty Priest of Magran: It's weird that if I want to create a fire priest... Berath and Wael are supperior options. Reason being: the most damage is dealt via DoTs. Ray of Fire and Flame Shield don't look all that amazing, and are the spells that I'll rarely cast. Not to mention that casting Torrent of Flame as rank 7 spell instead of Cleansing Flames just not going to happen. I would much prefer the following spell selection: 1. Fan of Flames; 2. Concelhaut's Corrosive Siphon or Combusting Wounds; 3. Fireball; 4. Shinning Beacon; 5. Wall of Flame or Torrent of Flame; 6. Pillar of Holy Fire; 7. Cleansing Flames Priest of Skaen: first of all ask yourself how would you build such a priest in order for him to be competitive and not getting trumped by possible alternatives? Why would a fighter multi-class with Scaen and not assassin/streetfighter/trickster instead? Is bleakwalker/skaen on par with bleakwalker/devout or bleakwalker/berserker? Atm the only evident synergy is between skaen and assassin because of Shadowing Beyond at rank 5; and that's not really enough. Thus suggesting the following selection: 1. Cripling Strike; 2. Spiritual Weapon; 3. Sneak Attack; 4. Confounding Blind; 5. Shadowing Beyond; 6. Eliminating Blow; 7. Minor Avatar Priest of Wael: comes with 5 wonderful wizard spells, a less wonderful Confusion (which was really strong in PoE1 and is meh in Deadfire) and Iconic Projection which just doesn't fit here (because Wael selection is focused on defences and cc; all being effective even with dumped MIG). Also Wael violates the following principle: a priest cannot get wizard spell earlier than wizard. And I am referring to Arcane Veil here, which is a rank 2 spell. Thus suggesting the following selection: 1. Spirit Shield; 2. Arcane Veil; 3. Curse of Blackened Sight; 4. Llengrath's Displaced Image; 5. Minor Grimoire Imprint; 6. Arkemyr's Wondrous Torment; 7. Gaze of Adragan Spells: First I'll list the spells I like - i.e. the ones looking at which I'm thinking, hmm, maybe I can find a spot for priest in my party?: Suppress Afflictions: losing control of your tanks or dps'ers is always unpleasant, this spell gives you time to deal with it. Withdraw: shenanigans stuff Consecrated Ground (before nerf): it's an AoE Heal over Time, meaning that with decent PL, MIG and INT and can result in a decent amount of total healing. The -28% nerf substantially reduced it through, and it feels like it's asking for multi-classing with Helwalker now. Shining Beacon: bread and butter spell for a damage dealing priest. It has 20% lower base damage than in PoE1 and you can't cast 5 of them, but it's still good enough to want a fire priest. Triumph of Crusaders: enables a glass-cannon dps party member with decent self-sustainance. Although a bit fades away in late game, provided that health pools increase faster than healing scaling Devotions for the Faithful (before the nerf): was a very strong spell. +20/-20 acc in medium aoe can hardly be under-appreciated. Now through it's just a shadow of former glory. It's still decent, but the fact that it is an active effect, makes it less useful when you have other +acc actives, like a paladin with Zealous Focus Circle of Protection: on average, it's like reducing the total damage your party takes by ~30% and even more on characters with already relatively high defenses Barring Deaths Door: shenanigans stuff and eternal love of streetfighters, berserkers, death godlikes.. Salvation of Time: buffs prolongation and shenanigans stuff Cleansing Flames: respectable damage, and double dps on all party DoT. Superb spell. Storm of Holy Fire: do love the periodic damage. As it also results in respectable total damage amount. Spark the Souls of the Righteous: high damage potential if you have enough summons or dominated enemies. Hand of Weal and Woe: high damage, high healing. Symbol of X: great all around. The rest of the spells, I personally find less useful. Either because of cast times, or because they share the same rank (and they fight for the slot), or because of the nature of the fights. And encounter design imho is the reason why priest inspirations aren't that impactful. Let's take Holy Power: AoE Strong inspiration could be fight breaking, if there was a numerous amount of fights were enemy throws a stun with huge radius and accuracy. In this case priest could run to his party and unstun them. But since I haven't encountered such scenario, it's just a measy give +5 MIG to all in a tiny aoe, and do nothing for 7s. Holy Power would also be useful if there were a lot of high-AR enemies, that would also toss quick Dazed aoes. And the only way to penetrate them would be to get rid of this might affliction. But again, don't really remember that happening. Not to mention that Holy Power has only 1.5m radius, and it would require a squishy priest to run into close range and risk getting focused; or if it's an armored frontline priest, enjoy a quite long recovery. Thus I would rather look at other means to get rid of Dazed. It could be liberating exhortation, or frenzy, some fast stuff. At the same time, if all these inspirations had faster cast/recovery time, it could potentially be unpleasant to play vs enemy priests, who could potentially quickly cancel a lot of hard-cc effects. What gives? - either increase the +stat on all inspirations from +5 to +7, to make them more desirable from +stat/+defence pov; not just as anti-cc - or increase the aoe - or let them give some bonus +acc or +defense - or give 1 inspiration per-rank for free? So these would end to be just situational spells - or prayers and litanies could give one tier better inspiration than they currently do So, here are the changes that I would make: Interdiction: either increase duration from 7 to 8s; or increase the area; or make it 1.5s cast time Restore: this spell doesn't scale as fast as health pools with level. Could get +15% per PL? Holy Power: 1.5m radius -> 2.5m radius, and +5% damage Barbs of Condemnation: target takes damage, and all enemies in 1.5m aoe get -7 to all defenses Halt: immobilize -> suspend beneficial effects and immobilize; or immobilize and reduce range by 50% Holy Meditation: 2.5m -> 5.0m aoe Repulsing Seal: 4.5s cast + 3.0s recovery -> 1.5s cast + 3.0s recovery Pillar of Faith: 4.5s cast + 3.0s recovery -> 3.0s cast + 4.0s recovery and 2.5m radius Warding Seal: 4.5s cast + 3.0s recovery -> 3.0s cast + 3.0s recovery Consecrated Ground: 5hp/3s -> 6hp/3s Divine Mark: 4.5s cast + 3.0s recovery -> 3.0s cast + 3.0s recovery; optionally could deal 20% less damage, as it doesn't compare with DW Full Attacks, and is taken more for that -25 deflection malus, but being mia for 7.5s is a bit too much; Or instead of casting time reduction; it could deal 20% more damage in order to be somewhat competitive dps-wise Despondent Blows: 1.5m radius -> 2.5m Litany for the Body: 3.0s cast + 3.0s recovery -> 1.5s cast + 3.0s recovery | and Hardy -> Nimble and Fit (rank 4 has a lot of good spells, having this litany provide just hardy, is not enough provided the opportunity cost) Litany for the Spirit: 0.5s cast + 3.0s recovery -> 1.5s cast + 3.0s recovery | and Acute -> Resolute and Smart Triumph of Crusaders: 80 -> 100 health restored Circle of Protection: 4.5s cast + 3.0s recovery -> 3.0s cast + 4.0s recovery Searing Seal: 4.5s cast + 3.0s recovery -> 3.0s cast + 3.0s recovery Champion's Boon: 3.0s cast + 3.0s recovery -> 1.5s cast + 3.0s recovery Minor Avatar: +20% damage with weapons -> +25% damage with everything; +40 max hp -> +80 max hp Crowns for the Faithful: 1.5m radius -> 2.5m; ar as suggested by mosspit: provide tier 2 inspirations instead of tier 1 Rank 9 spells: in addition to their effects, add +10s to Minor Avatar duration if active. And last thing: looking at the possibility of building a soft debuffing priest (wael with interdiction, despondent blows/divine mark, devotions and so on), the rank 2 looks to lack an affliction inflicting spell. Some kind of "Berath's Grasp": sicken all enemies in 2.0m aoe would be really handy. This would enable a low-might debilitating priest that dazes, blinds, and indirectly deals damage by lowering enemy constitution. How likely is it that Obsidian would be willing to implement this stuff?

As I am not a Lord of the Technical, and as there are many far more qualified Lords of the Technical to address mechanical matters, I wanted to address the selection of Priest spells available for each deity. I think all of them could use some improvement, both in terms of utility and theme, some more than others. No comment means it is fine as is. Berath PL 1 Touch Of Rot PL 2 Holy Meditation (Poor and should be replaced, Autumn's Decay would be a good alternative or Spiritual Weapon) PL 3 Spreading Plague (Decent but I think again that Autumn's Decay would be a better choice assuming Spiritual Weapon for PL2) PL 4 Divine Terror (OKish but I would like to see Infestation of Maggots instead) PL 5 Rot Skills PL 6 Salvation of Time PL 7 Rusted Armor PL 8 Symbol of Berath PL 9 Hand Of Berath Eothas PL 1 Sunbeam PL 2 Withdraw (Pretty bad imo and could be replaced by Infuse With Vital Essence; I think this is appropriate because of Eothas status as God of Renewal and Rebirth) PL 3 Watchful Presence (not good, not bad, could stay but probably better alternatives that don't come to mind) PL 4 Circle of Protection (OK but I would prefer to see something, however not much available at this level) PL 5 Revive The Fallen PL 6 Minor Intercession (OKish but I would like to see it replaced with Sunlance, which would be very appropriate) PL 7 Ressurrection (OK and appropriate, can stay) PL 8 Symbol of Eothas PL 9 Light Of Eothas Magran (Might probably requires the least revision imo) PL 1 Fan Of Flames PL 2 Spiritual Weapon (Not terrible but has little synergy, would prefer to see Burst of Summer Flame) PL 3 Ray Of Fire PL 4 Shining Beacon (OKish but I think Deleterious Alacrity of Motion would be better; Magran is the Goddess of Consumption and Transformation so I think this would be appropriate) PL 5 Flame Shield PL 6 Pillar Of Holy Fire PL 7 Torrent Of Flame PL 8 Symbol Of Magran PL 9 Magran's Might Skaen PL 1 Barbs Of Condemnation (Get rid of it, instead give penalised (akin to Trickster), Sneak Attack) PL 2 Escape PL 3 Divine Mark (Get rid of it, replace it with Blinding Strike) PL 4 Finishing Blow PL 5 Shadowing Beyond PL 6 Spiritual Ally (feels inappropriate, replace with Deep Wounds) PL 7 Minor Avatar PL 8 Symbol Of Skaen PL 9 Revenge of Skaen Wael PL 1 Arcane Veil PL 2 Iconic Projection (Rubbish, replace with Curse Of Blackened Sight) PL 3 Mirrored Image PL 4 Llengrath's Displaced Image PL 5 Confusion (Meh, replace with Ryngrim's Enervating Terror) PL 6 Arkemyr's Wondrous Torment PL 7 Gaze Of The Adragan PL 8 Symbol Of Wael PL 9 Blessings Of Wael Feel free to improve or add suggestions! Partial Credit To Max Quest For Some Inspiration!

I am pretty weak at rogue/melee builds but I heard much of this legendary blade. How would one go about best optimising the use of Pukestabber and what weapon would best pair with it? would a 1H build work well too? Any advice would be appreciated.

On paper the DOT Raw damage and Recovery Time bonus make it seem quite decent. Anyone thought of using it on a 2H build?

Rymrgand, perhaps based on his portfolio, seems very different from the other gods in the sense that he simply does not give a damn. Perhaps he is very confident about his portfolio in the sense that all things end eventually but he also does not seem to care that he was artificially created or that mortals find out or anything along those lines. He seems to altogether have a different attitude about things though it is not entirely clear why. Some questions that arise are: 1. Why does Rymrgand hold the other gods in contempt and even the Engwithans that created him? 2. Why after defeating the Beast of Winter avatar does he simply let you go? 3. How can he place a chime within you if Berath has already does so? 4. He seems to be aware of Eothas' plans yet is not bothered by them, perhaps because he thinks those plans will ultimately hasten his agenda? Any thoughts on the mystery of Rymrgand would be appreciated.

BTW how do post a pic of my toon? Seems that imgr does not work here.

I live to serve! (The Beast of Winter)

Any better?

I am not sure how to fix this. If you tell me what to do, I can try.

It really is. In my experience, in terms of raw spellcasting, Ryrmgand is unbeatable.

Priest(ess) Of Rymrgand Growing to adulthood in the White That Wends, all Pale Elves are at least familiar with Rymrgand in the sense that they acknowledge the God of Annihilation to a greater degree that those people who are fortunate to inhabit warmer and more pleasant climes. The Eternal Winter seems closer there than in all other places and those even the least pious of them must acknowledge the power of the Beast of Winter but beyond that most Pale Elves do not draw any conclusions about the world or gods. Gudrun was always different; in the White That Wends, nothing grows, nothing rises from the frozen husks that the cold has wrought and the quiet stillness of all things is readily apparent. Sometimes the wind itself ceases to blow and there is nothing. Gudrun always noticed this, always noticed that everything ends in quietude. Though learning of all the gods, Gudrun's largely self-taught mysticism and arcane knowledge gradually came to realise that whatever other Kith aspirations most of the gods represent, they all will eventually fall to the God of Winter and will never return. The end will come for everything, even the gods and only the Beast of Winter allows for this revelation. The other gods are just playing a game of time, but even time will be consumed by entropy and the Beast. The revelation that Rymrgand and the other gods are artificial constructs did nothing to diminish this conviction. Rymrgand's truth and symbolism remains true, artificial or not, remains and the ephemeral nature of the world and the other gods remains as well. In the end, there will be only nothing. To this end Gudrun has studied the nature of the Wheel and cosmos, the gods, the history so as to better appreciate the slow and inevitable decay that will come for everything. N.B. This build requires a single mod that allows access to already available, yet hidden classes, including the Priest of Rymrgand, Priest of Woedica, Steel Garrotte Paladin, et al. If you are allergic to using any mods, even ones that do not change any mechanics, this one is not for you. Mod is linked below: https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/179 Why play a Priest of Rymrgand? Apart from the obviously cool RPG reasons an Rymrgand being the coolest god of them all (no pun intended), the Priest of Rymrgand's special spells of among the best of any Priest subclass in the game. Touch of Rot remains useful even at the highest difficulties as a slow, wear them down DOT killer and virtually every other spell is at least decent. Noxious Burst and Blast of Frost of are very good and Ningauth's Freezing Pillar, which you acquire as a level 6 level comparable to Wizards is amazing in most situations for its AOE, hobbling and overall damage output. The final two, specialised spells are fantastic and on top of all of that you get all the standard Priest spells, some of which are great in their own right, such as Minor Avatar, Litany For The Spirit and Devotions for the Faithful. The Priest's spiritual weapon, dual frost battle axes are very effective when combined with high Perception and Might and the Bleeding effect suits the class thematically very well. In short the Priest of Rymrgand is a power house in most ways and incredibly fun to play and who wouldn't want to play a Priest of the greatest of gods? =================================== The End Bringer =================================== Difficulty: PotD v2.0.0.0030 -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Priest of Rymrgand -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Pale Elf -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: The White That Wends, Mystic -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (char creation, no Berath's Blessings): MIG: 18 CON: 6 DEX: 13 PER: 20 INT: 18 RES: 5 -------------------------------------------------------------- Important Skills: Arcana, Metaphysics -------------------------------------------------------------- Abilities (a=auto, r=recommended, !=important) PL1 Touch Of Rot (a) Restore ® Barbs Of Condemnation ® PL2 Blizzard (a) Spiritual Weapon ® Two Weapon Style ® Two-Handed Style ! PL3 Spreading Plague (a) Prayer For the Spirit ® Consecrated Ground ® Combat Focus ! PL4 Noxious Burst (a) Devotions For The Faithful ! Secrets of Rime ! Spirit of Decay ! PL5 Blast Of Frost (a) Litany For the Spirit (!) Far Casting (!) Rapid Casting (!) Practiced Healer ® PL6 Ninagauth's Freezing Pillar (a)+(!) Improved Critical (!) PL7 Death Ring (a) Minor Avatar ® Storm of Holy Fire ® PL8 Symbol of Rymrgand (a) Dismissal ® PL9 Call Of Rymrgand (a) Prestige (!) Items The only item I see as ABSOLUTELY necessary for this build is the Water Shaper's Rod. Swipe it from Tekehu and upgrade it ASAP to +3 Frost/Water Power Level bonus. It will make your Frost spells incredibly powerful. Otherwise I don't want to be too orthodox or prescriptive. Basically anything that enhances Might, Perception and Intellect are good, whatever those items might be. In general light armour that allows for short recovery is best. Also, although not required, I found Thaos' Headdress to be very helpful. In addition to +1 Intellect, its Conspirator ability adds +5 accuracy to your spells, every useful. Build and Gameplay As stated above I do not want to be too prescriptive with this build. Spells I mentioned are the ones I view as the most important; if I did not mention one, feel free to use it. As for stats, race and background, it is up to you, I just decided to run an RPG heavy Pale Elf who is a Mystic. For my playthrough I had Xoti with me the whole time so I did not need to invest in some Priest spells I otherwise might have invested in. Essentially the Priest of Ryrmgand is a Buffer/Spell Caster/AOE Damage Dealer/Off Support. Your Frost spells have massive damage potential, as through your own skills and the Water Shaper's Rod you can quickly annihilate enemies. Call of Ryrmgand can be insane after casting it and then dropping Ninagauth's Freezing Pillar into it. Most enemies in the game (outside of Beast of Winter DLC) do not have strong Frost Resistance. Touch of Rot is great at slowly whittling away at enemies and when all else fails, Spiritual Weapon+Minor Avatar+Bleeding can do a lot of work. I would take some fire spells just in case, which is why I took Storm of Holy Fire but for the most part I use Frost and Acid spells. You are first and foremost a spellcaster. Most engagements begin for me with Litany for the Spirit to quickly increase power level and intellect and then either Consecrated Ground or Devotions for the Faithful. Then you just Ice/Acid burn the enemy to oblivion (pun intended). You can heal well if necessary and staying true to Rymrgand's disposition (Honest+Rational Yes/Benevolent+Diplomatic No) will allow Holy Radiance to work optimally. Other than that there is no magic to this build but thematically it is fairly unique and is super fun to play. I might work on some multiclass setups as well if there is any interest. Thanks for stopping by.

But vessels have a very specific set of properties in Eora...such as the need to feed on living soul essence. A vessel is a soul that has been artificially tethered to a body, whether that body is its own (most undead), something else's (Wichts), or an artificial one (animats, constructs). Very few Vessels are permanent, which makes "become a vessel" a mediocre choice for most immortality-seekers. Most undead lose soul essence at a regular pace and need regular infusions of it to survive (read: eating living or recently-living things), and while constructs are comparatively stable and may last years at a time, they will eventually break down. Animats endure longer by force of sheer fanatical devotion, but that's hard to plan for. A lich gets around the problem through magic and surgery. First, they carve a bunch of arcane runes and symbols into their own skull, effectively binding their soul to their physical body with a network of complex spells. Then, they drill a hole in their skull, which they plug with a chunk of adra. The phylactery is, as Concelhaut clarifies in the first game, actually the skull itself. The process of becoming a lich (lichification?) seems to stop their soul from leaking altogether, but the resulting at the cost of their vanity: a lich's body will gradually become cold, dead, and emaciated. (Sources: PoE1 bestiary entries for constructs, animats, liches, and guls.) Thanks

But vessels have a very specific set of properties in Eora...such as the need to feed on living soul essence.

Is it a type of vessel? is it a type of D&D lich? something else entirely? does anyone know?

I swear, I spend minutes trying to line up the wall with multiple enemies. Anyone have any tips? It does not rotate the right way.

I am mainly a Priest guy so whenever you are inclined, I would enjoy reading.

So everyone feels that Druids and Priests are in a good spot?

In POE over time there were many tweaks and changes during the course of the game. It seems this round there are fewer or maybe I am missing something? I lack the mechanical expertise some people have on these forums so I suppose this is an appeal to those people; I invoke the spirit of the Lord God Boeroer here. Which classes and/or weapons need buffing, nerfing and tweaking in your expert opinion?

Hey, Iz ignant.

If you unlock hidden classes you can play as a Priest of Woedica and/or Steele Garotte Paladin. They work with Skaen.

BUT Bleak Walkers favour aggressive and Skaen does not. Magran seems to fit best with the Bleak Walkers tbf.

For my latest playthrough I have been running Aloth as a Spellblade with only one weapon. He seems to crit a lot and I know I could make a PC that would be even more effective. Has anyone tried a one-handed crit build on any class or combo of classes? Is it worth it?

Let's approach your question as a problem to solve.The requirement basically is to find the best build between following 11 combinations: - priest of skaen - priest of skaen / barb - priest of skaen / chanter - priest of skaen / cipher - priest of skaen / druid - priest of skaen / fighter - priest of skaen / monk - priest of skaen / paladin - priest of skaen / ranger - priest of skaen / rogue - priest of skaen / wizard Plus figure out the best subclass if multi-classed. And bonus points if going Skaen is superior to other deities. You know.. nothing fancy/stellar comes to mind. The most obvious synergy is, as Dr <3 mentioned: skaen/assassin. The important thing here is that you get bonus Finishing Blow uses, Shadowing Beyond (for Assassinate) and Escape which might be used with Salvation of Time. As for weapon, let's think: you start from stealth. Offhand weapon won't get Assassinate bonus nor stealth recovery bonus. Thus: - while you can assassinate: heavy 2H or unique weapons with dps oriented per-rest procs - when you run out of means to going invis: heavy DW (if you have guile left) or The Red Hand (otherwise) for steady dps. For example you can open up from stealth with: - Dragon's Dowry, - Skewer from Spearcaster, - Thunderous Report / Wild Barrage from Kitchen Stove - Storm Rune Shot from Thundercrack - Rod with Modal on While for steady dps to consider dual-wielding two out of: Xefa's Empirical Explication, Fire in the Hole, Kitchen Stove, Thundercrack, Scordeo Trophy. You could also consider: - priest of Skaen / bleakwalker or wayfarer, who mainly deals damage via full-attacks but can also occasionally toss Lay on Hands, Liberating Exhortation, Divine Mark or Consecrated Ground. Plus Cleansing Flames and Storm of Holy Fire in the late game. - priest of Skaen / sharpshooter with Thundercrack/Scordeo Trophy spamming Accurate Wounding Shot with Finishing Blow. Cleansing Flames should also double wounding dps. P.S. Wouldn't say that these are really good and specialized builds. But should be viable enough. To the best of my knowledge, you can not pair classes that gain a benefit from a banned disposition. Skaen disallows Aggressive but Bleakwalker loves it, and Kind Wayfarer disallows Cruel which Skaen loves. Yeah. I don't think any of the paladin orders really fit Skaen philosophically.